Cycle seat and handle-bar fastening attachment



No. 625,020. Patented May l6, I899.

E. H. CHAPPUIS. CYCLE SEAT AND HANDLE BAR FASTENING ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 13, 1897.) (No Model.)

.ul i llll wmwwa, 31v: van W00 M. 4 .mafiao N 40 1' NlTED STATES,

PATENT Germs.

EDWARD H. CHAPPUIS, OF MARYSVILLE, OALlFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,020, dated May 16, 1899. Application filed December 13, 1897. Serial No. 661,727. (No model.)

To a. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDW'ARD H. CHAPPUIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marysville, county of Yuba, State of California, have invented an Improvement in (lycle Seat and Handle-Bar Fastening Attachments; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

' My invention relates. to a means for securing the saddle, saddle-post, handle-bar steering-posts, and handle-bars 'of cycles by the employment of cam locking devices having means by which they are directly operated without the use of screw-threaded bolts and nuts or wrenches; and it consists in the hereinafter described and claimed devices and attachments for said parts, whereby the fastening or releasing and adjustment of any of the parts may be effected at once and without the application of any separate implement.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the seat-post and attachments. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same, the saddle-clamp being in section on line was, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail of the locking-block in the seat-clamp. Fig. 4=lS a horizontal section on line 1 y, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the steering-post on linew to, Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the same on line a a, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail showing a portion of the seat-post and socket with portions broken away to show the cam lever and block.

In the adjustment and securing of saddleposts and handle-bar steering-posts to obtainthe proper height for Various riders and in the adjusting and securing of the seats and the handle-bars for similar purposes, it has been customary to employ screw bolts and nuts, whereby the parts are clamped in place; but these devices are unsatisfactory and annoying, because, first, the amount of compression necessary to hold the parts in place is so considerable that threads are often stripped from the bolts and the angles of the nuts are twisted and torn away, besides which it is not easy to maintain the parts in proper line and prevent their being twisted out of place, whereby severe accidents may occur. My invention is designed to overcome this difficulty by the application of a series of clamping devices for holding these. parts in place.

In the present illustrations I have shown the tubular seat-post socket A, having the seat-post B slidable within it,and the steeringpost tubular socket 0, having the handle-bar post D correspondingly slidable within it, both being adapted'to be adjusted up and down to suit the convenience of the I'ldGlK.

Upon the top of the seat-post is the seat bar or support E, and to this the saddle is adjustably secured by a clamp,and other clamps 1 lock the saddle-springs F to this support at any desired point, as will be hereinafter more full-y described. The handle-bar is turnable in suitable holders in the upper end of the post D, so that it may be adjusted to suit the rider, and its post may also be raised or lowered in the socket similarly to the seat-post. All these adjusting devices are actuated by cams which immediately, lock and hold the parts to any point of adj ustment.

The seat-post socket A and the handle-bar socket C are provided with lugs a, projecting,

as here shown, rearwardly, and between these lugs are fulcrumed the oam-levers G. The corresponding portions of the posts are transversely corrugated, so that when the post is raised or depressed these corrugations are in line with the slottedopenings in which the 1 cam-levers operate. These levers have bloc'ks H pivoted to them, and these blocks have their faces which are adjacent to the posts correspondingly corrugated, so that when the cam is moved to lock the blocks against the seatposts the two will be held firmly and prevented from sliding upon each other.

Upon each side of the corrugations in the seat-post or handle-bar post are open channels, (shown at 1,) and the cam-blocks II have flanges or projections J upon each side, which rider of the danger of serious accident from such a cause.

when the two sides are clamped together upon this seat-support it will be held in the same manner, as previouslydescribed, in a straight line and prevented from turning.

K is a bolt passing centrally through the seat-post head and the corrugated portion of the seat-support, and it has a washer K and a thumb-nut K upon one end. Upon the other end is fulcrumed the cam-lever G',which operates when turned to either compress the sides of the seat-post head and clamp them firmly upon the seat-support or by turning in the opposite direction to release and allow the sides of the seat-post head to separate, so as to free the seat-support. When the pin K has been put into place, it is adjusted by means of the thumb-nut K until it is in the proper relative position to allow the cam-le ver G to operate. After that adjustment has been made no change in this part will be nec essary, the operation of securing and releasing being effected by means of the cam-lever, as before described. In order to prevent this cam-lever from turning, the shaft is flattened where it enters the seat-post head, fitting into correspondingly-shaped openings, which will insure the cam-lever remaining in its proper line of movement under all conditions.

The seat support or bar (marked E) is of sufficient length to allow the saddle to be moved forward or back upon it, andthus adjusted to suit the different peculiarities of riders. It is movablefrom end to end without being removed from the bar. The upper surface of this bar is transversely corrugated, as previously described, for the other locking-surfaces, and it is adapted to be engaged by a cam-block M, which fits into a channel in the top of a saddle-support N. Just beneath the upper corrugated surface and parallel therewith grooves or channels 0 are made longitudinally upon each side of the support E, and the lower part of the saddlesupport N has inwardly-turned flan ges,which fit and are slidable in these grooves. Upon each side of the part N are projecting lugs having holes made through them to receive the saddle-spring rods F, which may be adjusted therein and afterward locked by the cam-levers Q, fulcrumed on the part N and adapted to engage the rods F, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Vithin the channel in the upper part of N is fulcrumed a camlever G of the same character as those previously described. This lever is connected with the movable cam-block M, so that when turned in one direction it will raise and release it from the corrugations upon the top of E. The block has similar corrugations, so that when the parts have been moved forward or back to the proper adjustment the cam can be again pressed down, thus engaging and locking the block M with-the corrugations of the partE and holding it securely, so that it cannot move in either direction. The guide-channels O and the corresponding engaging parts of N insure the saddle always remaining in a proper position transversely and preventing it from being tilted to one side or the other. The whole saddle may be tilted forward or back by turning the support E in the head B of the saddle-post and adjusting it, as previously described.

The steering-post D has lines of transverse corrugations upon opposite sides in the line of the direction of travel of the machine. If it is desired to change the position of the steering-post in order to allow the handle-bar to be reversed, the clamp G, which looks the post in the socket C, may be lifted out and turned entirely around, reversing its position and bringing the line of corrugations which were in front to the rear, the rear ones being moved to the front. The interior of the steering-post socket has a guide formed along the front, which serves to engage with either of the projecting corrugated faces of the steering-post, while theother face is engaged and locked by the cam-block, as previously described. These two guides serve to maintain a post absolutely in its proper line and to prevent its'being twisted out of place.

In order to regulate the position of the camlever and maintain it at the rear of the post whenever the latter has been turned around, the lever itself is mounted upon a sleeve U, which is turnable upon the exterior of the socket C, turning between proper guiding ribs or flanges, and when either of the lines of corrugations of the post are brought into line the cam-block H, which is actuated by the lever G, enters through a slot in the rear of the socket-tube and engages the corrugations which may be brought into line with the slot.

It will be seen that by this construction the machine may be practically so dismantled as to render it impossible for a thief to steal and ride it away, as it is only necessary to turn the cam and unlock the handle-bar post,which may then be withdrawn and carried off, leaving the machine in such a condition that it cannot be ridden away. The adjustment is also of value, because it allows the handlebars to be turned instantly, so as to stand in line with the frame and wheels, and thus enables the machine to pass through narrow doorways or openings. It also makes it easy to pack for shipments and in many ways to handle it more readily than where all the parts are rigidly secured together.

The cam-heads G have holes at g for the fulcrum-pins, about which they turn, and

curved slots 9 through which the pins pass to connect the cams with the plates or blocks H. Both the ends and the sides of the cams are slightly flattened, so that they press squarely against the adjacent face of the plate H when the lever G is turned to release the pressure orto apply it to lock the parts, and

this prevents any accidental loosening of the cam from either position. v I

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a bicycle, of a seatpost having a head slotted vertically in the line of travel of the machine, radial interlocking corrugations formed on the inner faces of the head, a seat-supporting bar having a correspondingly-corrugated circular head adapted to fit between the sides of the seat-post head, a shaft extending through the seat-post head and the corresponding part of the seatsupporting bar, a cam-lever fulcrumed to the end of the shaft and adapted to close and lock the, corrugated meeting faces, said shaft having its opposite end threaded, and a nut on said threaded end for adjusting the shaft with relation to the lever.

2. The combination with a seat-post having a head split or slotted downward from the upper end, the sides of which are capable of moving to and from each other, of a seat supporting bar having a circular projection fitting between the sides of the seat-post head and correspondingly corrugated so as to en-.

gage the corrugations on the inner faces of said head, a shaft passing centrally through the head and the interior disk, said shaft having one end screw-threaded and adapted to receive a nut and Washer whereby the adjustment of the parts is effected, and a cam fulcrumed in the opposite end adapted to close the parts of the seat-post head and clamp them against the corrugated disk of the seat-support, substantially as described.

Ina bicycle, a seat-post, a seat-support ing bar with means for adj ustably clamping it in the top of the seat-post, said bar having corrugations upon the surface and channels or grooves upon each sideparallel with the upper surface, a block fitting and slidable within said grooves or channels and having a cam-lever .fulcrumed in the upper part thereof, a cam-block having a face corrugated to engage with the face of the supporting-bar and loosely connected with the cam-lever so that by the movement of the cam-lever the .block is locked in engagement with the supporting-bar.

4. In a bicycle, a seat-post and a seat-sup porting bar fitted thereto, a saddle-block slidable longitudinally upon the seat-supporting bar, the seat-springs, a cam-block with interlocking face whereby said block may be engaged with and looked upon the supportingbar, said block having holes made through its and the intermediate disk to be adjusted, said.

cam and connection locking the disks after the adjustment is obtained. 7

6. The combination with the movable post and a socket-post of a bicycle, of a cam havintegral therewith, and fulcrumed on the socket-post, a cam-block having a pin loosely engaging with the slotted head of the cam and having teeth or corrugations adapted to engage the toothed or corrugated surface of the post, said head of the cam being flattened on one side whereby the turning of the lever in one direction will disengage the block from the post and the turning of the lever in the opposite direction will' lock the post to its socket and also look the lever against accidental movement.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand. I

- EDWARD H. OHAPPUIS.

' Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, JEssIE O. BRODIE.

ing a slotted head and an actuating-lever 

